Update!

Lawrence Taylor Pleads Not Guilty to Rape

Former footballer arraigned for alleged sexual assault on 16-year-old ruanway-turned-prostitute

By Josh Grossberg May 06, 2010 8:50 PMTags
Lawrence Taylor, Arthur AidalaAP Photo/Seth Harrison, Pool

UPDATE: Taylor was released from custody Thursday afternoon after posting $75,000 bail.
___________________________________________________________________

Bruno and Len might be tough, but they got nothing on the latest judge Lawrence Taylor is facing.

The former NFL star and Dancing With the Stars contestant has pleaded innocent to charges that he raped a 16-year-old runaway early this morning at a Holiday Inn in upstate New York.

Taylor, 51, did not speak as he was rung up on a single felony count of third-degree rape for engaging in sexual intercourse with a person under the age of 17 and one misdemeanor count of patronizing a prostitute.

If convicted, Taylor would face a maximum four years in prison for the statutory rape charge and one year for the patronization rap.

The 16-year-old victim, whose name was withheld because of her age and the nature of the crime, accused the Hall of Fame ex-Giant of beating and then raping her during their encounter, for which he allegedly paid $300.

Bail was set at $75,000.

"Your honor I believe that amount of [bail] money is ludicrous," said his attorney, Arthur Aidala. "Lawrecne Taylor is denying these charges, he's 51 years old, he's married with three children."

The lawyer said that in such cases "the likelihood of a plea bargain to a misdemeanor is very very high and likely jail time is very very low" and Taylor "should be released on his own recognizance."

The judge refused to budge, however. Taylor's due back in court on June 10.

Police, meanwhile, also have the girl's alleged pimp in custody.

Rasheed Davis, a 36-year-old parolee, was arrested in the case on charges of unlawful imprisonment, assault and endangering the welfare of a child.

The girl was reported missing by her family in March and had been staying with Davis, according to police. They say Davis beat up the girl and then drove her to Taylor's hotel, where he forced her to have sex with Taylor. He allegedly paid her the $300, which she gave to Davis.

As she and Davis returned to his place in the Bronx, she managed to text her uncle, who in turn alerted NYPD.

E! News has confirmed that Davis was sentenced to prison in 1994 for first-degree manslaughter. He was paroled in 2008.

—Additional reporting by Whitney English

(Originally published May 6, 2010, at 1:08 p.m. PT)

 Follow E! Online on Facebook!
________

With today's legal action, it's a good time to check out E! Online's Court Appearances gallery.